LLEI D'ART 10

NURIA MISERT MARLBOROUGH Madrid Gallery Director 1. Taste changes with experience. Our mis- sion is to assess each client, searching to find them the best options amongst all the artists we work with in order to offer them quality works that suit any budget. When a client comes to the gallery, it is quite normal for them to be familiar with our roster of artists, or at least the artist that had been following before they came to us. However, from then on, our job is to broaden the infomation that they have, to guide them on each of the pieces exhibited, and if it is possible, to get them to know and study the works’ background. Thus the acquisition will fit within the limits of each collection, whether large or small, a long-established collection or a recently-started one. The client is always right, but this involves a personalised assessment which, on occasion, makes them change their mind. 2. That their work brings something to the current artistic circuit, even beyond its fi- nancial potential. I mean, theirs should be a unique approach, insofar as this is pos- sible. A serious piece of work that respects the past and commits to the present. They should also know their trade, and have enough enthusiasm to get involved in this complicated world of modern art. They should surprise and excite me. 3. The worst thing that can happen to an artist, whether they work with galleries or not, is to become conformist: to think that they’ve discovered everthing or just let themselves by carried away by their com- merical desire, thus no longer experiment- ing, learning, advancing or investigating. This attitude may work for a while as an echo of their previous success, but this definitely has an expiration date. 4. Gallery owners must, above all, love art. They must believe in the gallery’s art- ists so as to be able to defend their work. This, generally speaking, means creating a humble collection, according to their own limitations. Sponsorship, when undertaken with honesty and enthusiasm, can be a very gratifying job. 5. The market’s parameters are changing, as is the way of working throughout the season, although the central, essential role, remains the same. However, it is true that there are new rules: attending art fairs, the expansion of media resources, working via the internet and the use of social networks –the ways of communicating with clients and the public has changed, and the gallery must move with the times. It is a long-dis- tance race, like that of an artist, which needs constant updating. 6. This gallery has a wide-ranging, fruitful international profile which has paid special attention to modern painting and sculp- ture in each period, using very varied ap- proaches. As such, there is not an overriding trend or style. We must carefully look at new values and new disciplines, always search- ing for quality over any particular aesthetic discourse. 7. Not at all. Painting has been declared dead several times over the last 100 years, and especially so over the last two decades. However, it is always returns stronger than before: this can be seen in the last ARCO, or any other prestigious modern art fair. Paint- ing will never be obsolete, but will undergo new experiences, hybridisations and blends. 8. I don’t think there is a lack of interest in modern art on the part of the public: there is a certain respect for the unknown, but this lack of connection with the art which was greater in the past has become less evident. Internationally, and within Spain, modern art is becoming more popular as time passes, and this can be seen over the last two de- cades. The young artists and students grow up, the collectors become younger, and there is an interesting fusion that becomes linked to the current outlook. Obviously, the recession has affected the market, and has made itself felt in any gallery or institution. 2. Que aporte algo al actual circuito ar- tístico, por encima incluso de sus posi- bilidades mercantiles. Quiero decir, que sea una apuesta singular, en la medida de lo posible. Un trabajo serio, respe- tuoso con el pasado y comprometido con el presente. Que conozca el oficio, y atesore suficiente entusiasmo para meterse en este complejo mundo del arte contemporáneo. Que me sorpren- da, que me emocione. 3. Lo peor que puede ocurrirle a un ar- tista, trabaje o no con galerías, es caer en el conformismo. Creer que ya lo ha descubierto todo o dejarse llevar por la vena comercial, y dejar de experimen- tar, de aprender, de avanzar, de inves- tigar. Esa actitud puede servir durante un tiempo, por el eco de los éxitos ob- tenidos, pero tiene clara fecha de ca- ducidad. 4. Los galeristas debemos, ante todo, amar el arte. Creer en los artistas de la galería para defender bien su trabajo. Y eso, generalmente, conlleva la creación de una colección más o menos humil- de, según posibilidades. El mecenaz- go, cuando se ejerce con honestidad y entusiasmo, es una labor muy gratifi- cante. 5. Están cambiando los parámetros del mercado, la manera de funcionar a lo largo de la temporada, aunque el papel esencial sea el mismo. Pero es cierto que hoy existen nuevos imperativos: la asistencia periódica a ferias, la amplia- ción de recursos mediáticos, el trabajo a través de internet, el uso de las re- des sociales…cambian las formas de comunicación con el público y con los clientes. Y la galería tiene que adaptar- se al ritmo de los tiempos. Es una ca- rrera de fondo, como la del artista, que precisa una actualización constante. 6. Esta galería tiene una amplia y fruc- tífera trayectoria internacional que ha venido prestando atención especial a la pintura y la escultura contemporá- nea de cada momento, de cada etapa, bajo postulados muy diversos. No hay, pues, una tendencia ni un estilo impe- rante. Hoy atendemos también a los nuevos valores, y a las nuevas discipli- nas, con prudencia, buscando siempre la calidad por encima de cualquier dis- curso estético. 7. En absoluto. Se han vaticinado va- rias muertes de la pintura en los últi- mos cien años, muy especialmente en las dos últimas décadas. Pero siempre renace con más fuerza, como deuestra la última edición de ARCO, o cualquier feria de arte contemporáneo de presti- gio. La pintura nunca estará obsoleta, sólo vivirá nuevas experiencias, hibri- daciones y mestizajes. 8. No creo que haya una falta de inte- rés del público hacia el arte contem- poráneo. Hay cierto respeto a lo des- conocido, pero esa desconexión que antes era mayor se ha hecho menos evidente. En el ámbito internacional, y en España, el arte contemporáneo gana adeptos con el paso del tiempo. Lo hemos advertido en estas dos úl- timas décadas. Los jóvenes artistas y estudiantes crecen, los coleccionistas rejuvenecen, y hay una fusión muy in- teresante que se proyecta al panorama actual. La crisis, evidentemente, afec- ta al mercado, y en cualquier galería o institución se percibe su empuje. 78